Vent '08 Mazda5 GT - Should I stay or should I go.

I have a the same vehicle, just a little newer. I also have three in carseats (well, my oldest is in a booster in the third row). It is a tight squeeze some days but I really love my car. I don't grocery shop with all the kids usually, though, since my oldest is in school. And my DH does most of the grocery shopping anyway.

I'm not sure what I'd do if my tranny went. Probably fix it if I still owed on the vehicle. I have my eye on a Honda Pilot as my next car, but the only thing holding me back is that my 5 is a manual and the Pilot only comes in automatic. Hard to find a third row vehicle available in a manual. I really really don't want to drive an automatic.

Never owned a mazda 5, but borrowed one from hubby's sister to see if I wanted one. Drove it for a week and very gladly handed her the keys and went and bought an odyssey at the end of the week. If I only had 2 kids and knew that was all I planned on I would have gotten the 5. Having to use the third row was the kicker. There is no cargo room with it up, and we travel extensively during the summer so room to pack is a must. You could use a top box but I'm not a fan of those, and you won't get the fuel economy with it you do without. I looked at the expedition, tahoe, and suburban also, but the fuel economy just wasn't there. I drive the kids to and from school and to all their activities, which during the school year can mean up to 50 miles a day. Honestly, just looking at space and fuel economy I found a van to be our better option.

What does your wife want to do?

I LOVE my 5 even with 4 kids. My husband thinks it's too small. But it's MY car to drive so MY decision.

I drive a Mazda5 and am about to have my fourth baby. It doesn't bother me one bit not having a huge cavernous cargo area, I bought a compact stroller that fits perfectly and with so many kids massive shopping trips don't happen anyways. The gas mileage is fantastic, even with a cargo box on top I'm getting way better than my old van.

I love the honesty in your post!

Does your wife want a van? I tried the van route once...it lasted about 7 months. Not for me.

I found my Yukon XL Denali easier to drive than my MDX was. Something about being above what your trying to maneuver around vs being too low to actually view outside angles. Make sense? Yeah it's late I don't think I described that well. Don't be afraid of the size of the Yukon XL...it really isn't hard to drive or that massive once you get used to it which takes about a week.

I had 3 kids in a MDX and it was alright but looking back after moving to the Yukon (and adding a 4th) it was a nightmare compared to the Yukon. Huge Costco trips with all kids aboard were no big deal. The same can be said for a van so I think it will come down to what she wants.

Oh and be aware that the gas mileage in the Denali sucks due to her thirsty V8....you can do a little better in a Suburban with the smaller V8.

I have had compact cars, I have had a minivan and a High end Chevy blazer. But I just got a Honda Pilot a few months ago and I am in love. Even though I only have two kids, we take my older stepdaughter and her son with us a lot and need the third row a lot. Even if you have three kids, three carseats fit well across the middle seat. And the best part is that even though you are driving a bigger rig, it doesn't feel like it. Oh, and it's rated high in the safety ratings.

With baby #2 on the way we are currently shopping for a new 5. We considered many others including the Journey, Sienna, Rav4 and found the 5 will be perfect for us especially considering we are done having kids. We chose the 5 due to the ease of entry/exit (b/f has 3 herniated discs with torval cysts on his spine), size, availability of 3rd row for very occasional use and price. If we knew we would use the 3rd row more often or were thinking we would have a 3rd child I would choose something bigger.

Having grown up and worked in the car business my best piece of advice to you is to make sure you get a car that YOU like. I have seen too many people purchase a vehicle they didn't really want only to come back in a month or two wanting out if it.

Since you have a larger vehicle for family trips (am I reading that right?), I'd consider fixing the 5 and keeping it. We have a van for trips and use the 5 for commuting and hauling 3 kids around. I love it for how small it is and getting 3 kids in and out of it seems to be going well. I have our rfing child in the 3rd row and the ffing harness/booster kid and the booster kid in the 2nd row. I still have room for some stuff in the folded down 3rd row portion or the front seat if I have all 3 kids with me. Honestly though, I usually only have dd in the 3rd row during the school year since the older kids are in school.

I've had 3 kids in a mazda5 2009) for a year now - theyre 1, 3 (still rfing) and almost 5. It's been working fine. I have the rf'ers in the second row - baby in coccoro at first now in peg behind driver, 3 year old rfing behind passenger with angle adjuster, oldest in frontier 85 passenger side. He climbs in either over the radian or in the hatch, depending on his mood and whether there's Anything in the back. He recently learned to buckle himself correctly most of the time. Costco runs are kind of a bummer, but other than that its great. The few times we've had something that must be moved in this car with the third row down the frontier is easy enough to reinstall so not a huge deal. I'm sure at some point we'll get a real van but that will be a sad day, I love my 5.

That is one thing I quickly noticed about the Mz5 is the lack of storage with the 3rd row up. I literally couldn't fit a box of diapers back there, I had to open it up and take out the plastic sleeves to get them to fit...I was so annoyed.

teekadog,
She wants to run into curbs and destroy anything that we buy for her. :lol: No, seriously, she's not sure. She likes the size of the Mz5, but it may not be big enough. If she could still be driving her Toyota Echo, she would. I do know she didn't want a VAN, and the Mz5 was a good compromise. I don't know if her feeling is still the same.

TXDani,
My honesty, may be a flaw, I don't know. Just the way I am! Funny you mention the Yukon XL Denali. That would be on my list of vehicles to be looking at (as well as the Expedition EL, but I believe the Yukon Denali may be nicer). It would hurt me a little inside to be driving a GM though.

I know exactly what you mean about the view...I'm with you on being able to see over everything! When I'm not driving my Civic Hybrid (go green!), I'm driving a lifted Dodge Ram 2500 on 37" tires (go black!). I LOVE being up high and being able to see everything around me. Perhaps if we ditch the Mz5, an SUV would be a better option for her due to the better visibility?

kaylamom,
You brought up "three car seats across the middle row". That's something else that I need to take into consideration and research -- 2nd row Captain's chairs, or, 3-across the middle row. I'd think the Captain's chairs would be easier so the 3rd row kid can walk between them to the back. Then again, kids have no problem climbing and putting their feet anywhere they dang-well-please to walk across the ceiling to get to the back seat while doing a somersault off the headrest and sticking a perfect landing, so, I'm not sure.

Dillipop,
Yes you are reading that right, we have my Dodge Ram (Mega Cab!) w/ bed cap that we use for trips.

Thanks everyone for the input and questions so far.

One thing I forgot to take into account until this weekend is her photography. She's a photographer (I don't mean she want to WalMart, bought a $500 Canon, created a blog, and called herself a professional photographer -- no offense to those who have! ...but you know what I'm talking about), but she's got lots of photo gear that she has to haul to her shoots. With the 3rd row down, it barely fits in the Mz5. With them up, no way. I forgot until this weekend when she had to take my Civic to a photo shoot. With that said, I need to consider cargo space too. No, she's not taking my truck! LOL...

I will put in a shameless photo website plug when I get home...blocked at work.

Anyways, Civic with her photo junk.










My truck/family hauler:

Oh my gosh- I'm your wife! I cried giving up my Echo for my 5. (And I hit more than my fair share of curbs.)

With her photography and 3 kids a bigger car might be necessary. I wouldn't want to put expensive fancy stuff like that in a cargo box. My kids are my only profession so it's fine that they fill every available space.

teekadog said:

Oh my gosh- I'm your wife! I cried giving up my Echo for my 5. (And I hit more than my fair share of curbs.)

With her photography and 3 kids a bigger car might be necessary. I wouldn't want to put expensive fancy stuff like that in a cargo box. My kids are my only profession so it's fine that they fill every available space.

Click to expand...

Funny story... Well, she got the Mazda 5 because.....wait for it......she crashed her Echo into a guardrail and totaled it (single car accident)...(I wasn't lying in my previous reply). I still don't believe I got the full story on how she managed to pull that off, but I love her anyways. Something about "I was behind a tractor trailer, I pulled out from behind to pass, and the wind made me turn sideways and drive into the guardrail." I'm not a physics major, but...:shrug-shoulders:

I didn't total my Echo- at 12 years old it's dh's car now because I couldn't fit 3 carseats in it back in the day. But I'll side with your wife because I've experienced those crazy headwinds pushing on my Echo on highways- it's true!